Epiphany (of another kind)
Today is the Feast of the Epiphany in the Roman Catholic Church (and other religions and cultures), the commemoration of the Christ revealing himself as man as well as the visit of the Magi (Wise Men) or more familiarly, the Three Kings (they weren't kings but astrologers, seers, holy men). There is much written about the Magi, better and more intelligently than I could without extensive research. What I did want to talk about is one of t he wise men who is described and represented in literature and art as an African. Although there is no evidence that one of the magi was African (often considered either Abyssinian, Ethiopian), black Baltasar , bearing either frankincense or myrrh (both of which are found on that continent) has made an appearance at Jesus's crib from around the 12 th century A.D. . Since the Magi themselves were said to have been Persian, it's a bit of mystery as to how Baltasar (whose name has roots in ancient Phoenecia and means "save the life o...